1
falclass="underline" Output will fall by 6%.
drop: Temperatures can drop to freezing at night.
sink: Pay increases have sunk to around seven per cent.
decrease: Population growth is decreasing by 1.4% each year.
lessen: He is used to a lot of attention from his wife, which will inevitably lessen when the baby is born.
dwindle: Exports are dwindling and the trade deficit is swelling.
2
refuse: He offered me a second drink which I refused.
reject: Seventeen publishers rejected the manuscript before Jenks saw its potential.
turn down: I thanked him for the offer but turned it down. NOUN 3
falclass="underline" There was a sharp fall in the value of the pound.
drop: The poll indicates a drop in support for the Conservatives.
decrease: Bank base rates have fallen from 10 per cent to 6 per cent–a decrease of 40 per cent.
deterioration: …the slow steady deterioration of a patient with Alzheimer's disease.
worsening: This latest incident is bound to lead to a further worsening of relations between the two countries.
downturn: They predicted a severe economic downturn. COLLOCATIONS decline NOUN 3
adjective + decline : precipitous, rapid, sharp, steep; gradual, steady; irreversible, terminal
verb + decline : halt; reverse; offset VERB
1
decline + adverb : precipitously, rapidly, sharply, steeply; steadily
2
decline + noun : invitation, offer, request
de|code /diː koʊ d/ (decodes , decoding , decoded )
1 VERB If you decode a message that has been written or spoken in a code, you change it into ordinary language. □ [V n] All he had to do was decode it and pass it over.
2 VERB A device that decodes a broadcast signal changes it into a form that can be displayed on a television screen. □ [V n] About 60,000 subscribers have special adapters to receive and decode the signals.
de|cod|er /diː koʊ də r / (decoders ) N‑COUNT A decoder is a device used to decode messages or signals sent in code, for example the television signals from a satellite.
de|colo|niza|tion /diː kɒ ləna I ze I ʃ ə n/ in BRIT, also use decolonisation N‑UNCOUNT Decolonization means giving political independence to a country that was previously a colony.
de|com|mis|sion /diː kəm I ʃ ə n/ (decommissions , decommissioning , decommissioned ) VERB When something such as a nuclear reactor or a large machine is decommissioned , it is taken to pieces because it is no longer going to be used. □ [be V -ed] HMS Warspite was decommissioned as part of defence cuts. [Also V n]
de|com|pose /diː kəmpoʊ z/ (decomposes , decomposing , decomposed ) VERB When things such as dead plants or animals decompose , or when something decomposes them, they change chemically and begin to decay. □ [V ] …a dead body found decomposing in a wood. □ [V + into ] The debris slowly decomposes into compost. □ [V n] The fertiliser releases nutrients gradually as bacteria decompose it. ● de|com|posed ADJ □ The body was too badly decomposed to be identified at once.
de|com|po|si|tion /diː kɒ mpəz I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT Decomposition is the process of decay that takes place when a living thing changes chemically after dying. [FORMAL ]
de|com|pres|sion /diː kəmpre ʃ ə n/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Decompression is the reduction of the force on something that is caused by the weight of the air. □ Decompression blew out a window in the plane.
2 N‑UNCOUNT [usu N n] Decompression is the process of bringing someone back to the normal pressure of the air after they have been deep underwater. □ …a decompression chamber.
de|con|gest|ant /diː kəndʒe stənt/ (decongestants ) N‑VAR A decongestant is a medicine which helps someone who has a cold to breathe more easily.
de|con|struct /diː kənstrʌ kt/ (deconstructs , deconstructing , deconstructed ) VERB In philosophy and literary criticism, to deconstruct an idea or text means to show the contradictions in its meaning, and to show how it does not fully explain what it claims to explain. [TECHNICAL ] □ [V n] She sets up a rigorous intellectual framework to deconstruct various categories of film. ● de|con|struc|tion /diː kənstrʌ kʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …the deconstruction of the macho psyche.
de|con|tami|nate /diː kəntæ m I ne I t/ (decontaminates , decontaminating , decontaminated ) VERB To decontaminate something means to remove all germs or dangerous substances from it. □ [V n] …procedures for decontaminating pilots hit by chemical weapons. ● de|con|tami|na|tion /diː kəntæm I ne I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ The land will require public money for decontamination.
de|con|trol /diː kəntroʊ l/ (decontrols , decontrolling , decontrolled ) VERB When governments decontrol an activity, they remove controls from it so that companies or organizations have more freedom. [mainly AM ] □ [V n] The government chose not to decontrol oil and gas prices last January. ● N‑VAR Decontrol is also a noun. □ [+ of ] …continuing decontrol of banking institutions.